he was not in a position to agree to negotiate on the basis
of information given across the table.
As regards Mr. Stans'
reference to a time for adjustment, the philosophy here
was that sudden movements should be avoided and the process
of change should be slow. Mr. Stans had implied that the
US level of production should not diminish and that a
substantial part of the growth must go to the US industry.
Was not the US problem one of inflation rather than of
textile imports as such?
Mr. Jordan referred to the report of the US Textile
Commission and its findings. These were discounted
by the US side on the grounds that the US Commission had
been required to report very quickly and that the statistics
on which it worked related to a period two or three years ago..
The US authorities were now concerned with the trend of
the figures more recently and for the future.
Mr. Stans referred to the problem of the US trade gap
and said that the overall position was of great concern.
In this context the 800m. deficit in textile trade in 1969
was of special importance. The US psychology also had
changed and the US was no longer "big uncle" to the rest of
the world. He agreed however that inflation was part of
the problem.
Sir J. Cowperthwaite repeated that while Hong Kong
was not prepared to enter into negotiations with the US
they were prepared to consult about any trade problem under
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